We Are Family
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: Not all family is biological. Sometimes you find a family with the ones you least expected.


We Are Family

Summary: Not all family is biological. Sometimes you find a family with the ones you least expected.

Disclaimer: I don't own _Sofia the First_.

A/N: Yay! Another Grotta and Gnarlie story! :) I adore these two and personally feel like they should appear more in the show, especially Grotta. I can't help it. I love snarky, sassy, funny characters. *cough* Wormwood *cough* :D Enjoy! (Super short and very sugary! You've been warned! lol)

*Story*

"Oh, Gnarlie!"

Gnarlie groaned in dismay as he turned around from whatever he was working on. "Grotta, come on," he complained lightly as he faced his friend fully when she landed before him. "I _just_ got some down time after our busy day. Whatever it is, can't it wait?"

The dark-haired fliegel pouted and folded her arms. "I see how it is. You'd rather be by yourself than spend time with me. Some best friend you are." She huffed.

The troll rolled his eyes and raked his hands over his face in aggravation. "Grotta… We've been together all day."

"And? That's what we do! We're friends! We're…"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "We're what?"

She growled in frustration. "Oh, never mind. Forget I mentioned it. Go back to whatever you were doing. I'll leave you alone." That said, she flew off.

Gnarlie sighed and turned back to his chore. He couldn't let her know what he was working on, no matter how much she tried to guilt trip him. A determined look crossed his features. "Sorry, Grotta."

The fliegel lay on her sofa and tossed one of the glowing crystals up and down, catching it each time. By this point, several different cave crystals filled not only the bowl on her small table but were also embedded in the surrounding cave. She had more than enough light to combat any darkness she may encounter.

She sighed as she caught the crystal once again and held it to her chest. She'd only wanted to spend a little more time with her favorite troll, but she supposed perhaps maybe they were spending _too_ much time together. After all, too much time with _anyone_ , no matter how close they were, could lead to annoyance. Oh, great. So now she was annoying him? Well, fine. He was annoying her too!

Grotta sighed at her hypothetical internal argument. "This is stupid," she muttered to herself. "Maybe I should just get some fresh air. If he wants the cave to himself, he can have it." With that thought, she grabbed a few more crystals into a thin bag and flew off.

The fliegel struggled a bit with her heavy burden of crystals, but they were certainly illuminating the night for her. She flew faster so she could reach her destination sooner. Her purple eyes lit up when she saw just the window she was looking for.

"All right, Clover," Sofia sang happily as she held up two different dresses: one seafoam green and one deep red. "Which one do you think I should wear to the banquet tomorrow night?"

"Eh, I'd say go with the green one," the bunny responded as he scratched his ear. "It suits you better." He smiled as she nodded in agreement before walking back to her closet to put the other one away. He blinked and turned when he heard a small tap on the window. "Uh, Sofia! You got a fliegel at your window!"

"Huh?" Sofia hurried back over to the window seat and tilted her head. "Grotta?" She unlatched the window and opened it, quickly letting the panting fliegel inside and allowing her to rest against her pillows. She re-latched the window and glanced toward her smaller friend. "Grotta? Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine," she said calmly as she pulled the bag of cave crystals from around her neck and pushed them aside. "Gnarlie said he wanted some space, so I'm giving him some."

"Did you guys have a fight?" Clover wondered curiously.

"Not really. I just went to ask him something, and he said pretty clearly that we'd been together all day and he wanted some alone time. So I'm giving him some."

Sofia just smiled and shook her head before laughing softly. "Oh, Grotta. You're so dramatic sometimes."

The fliegel pouted. "I'm not being dramatic! All I wanted to do was spend some time with my best friend, and he would rather keep to himself!" She folded her arms. "Obviously he doesn't care about me anymore."

"Grotta, don't be silly." The princess lifted the bag of crystals up. "If he didn't care about you, he wouldn't have helped you get these." She then placed the bag back near Grotta. "And besides, you said it yourself: you two had been together all day. You share a cave together. You're always together. A little time apart doesn't hurt your friendship. It can actually make it stronger."

Clover nodded fervently. "Yeah, look at me and Sof. We're awesome friends, but we're not together _all the time_. It really does help to have some space from each other every once in a while, because when you do get back together, it's more fun."

Grotta sighed sadly. "But I don't like being all alone. You guys know that." She lowered her head. "You guys have family or act like family to each other. Some of us don't have that."

"Come on, Grotta," Sofia enthused as she scooped the fliegel into her hands. "Cheer up. Gnarlie is a good guy—er, troll. He's sweet and caring, and he would never hurt you on purpose." She smiled as the fliegel looked up at her. "Maybe go back and talk to him… _calmly_. Tell him what you told us. I doubt he meant to hurt your feelings."

Grotta whined. "But then I'd be _disturbing_ his precious alone time, Sofia."

"Oh, for goodness—look, kid," Clover cut in as he gestured with his paws. "Let me put this to you in plain terms since you girls like to jump to conclusions sometimes." He grinned sheepishly when both girls shot him a look. "Eh, sorry. Anyway, Gnarlie is your friend. Sure, spending too much time together can make you get on each other's nerves sometimes, but you're still friends at the end of the day no matter what. So get a grip, be a strong fliegel, and go talk to your friend and tell him how you feel." With that said, he hopped down to the floor. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a plate of radishes calling my name. Later, Sofia!" He hopped away.

Grotta stood to her full height on Sofia's palm and accepted her bag of crystals, looping them around her shoulder. "So you think I should talk to him too?"

Sofia giggled. "He's never going to understand why you're upset unless you tell him. He can't read your mind."

"He shouldn't have to. I rarely keep my frustrations a secret." She rolled her eyes as the princess laughed. "Fine. I'll talk to him. Sorry for bothering you so late at night."

"Oh, it's fine. I'm always here if you need to talk." She lowered to the window seat again, unlatched the window, and held her hand close to the opening. "I'll see you later. Good luck!"

"Thanks, Sofia." She smiled and flew off.

Gnarlie looked up from his project he was working on and smiled triumphantly. "Ah-hah! Finished." He stood and picked up his project before turning and walking over toward Grotta's side of the cave. He looked around her room, noticing that the area was still well-illuminated, but he grew a bit concerned when he didn't see the fliegel anywhere. "Grotta? Where are you?" He searched all over before finally hearing a small thud behind him.

Grotta made a noise of annoyance as she plopped against the sofa after returning from her quick journey. "Oh, not such a graceful landing…"

"Where were you?" Gnarlie asked curiously. "I came looking for you to show you something, and I couldn't find you anywhere."

She smiled lazily. "Aw, he cares."

"Of course I care. Are you still mad about earlier?"

Grotta sighed. "No, I understand what you were saying. Maybe it wouldn't hurt for us to spend some time apart every now and then. I get it. Having me as a cave-mate can be sort of daunting. I mean, I'm awesome but I'm loud."

He chuckled. "That's one way of putting it. But I think I get what you were hinting at earlier." He handed her what appeared to be a small framed portrait.

She blinked as she looked at the focus of the portrait. In a rather rough yet endearing etching in the center was a likeness of the two of them. Above it were the words "We Are Family." She smiled happily as she looked toward him. "Gnarlie…"

"It makes sense, huh? Some friends really are like family. We get on each other's nerves, but we never stop caring about each other." He gasped in surprise as she flew straight at him and hugged him tightly. "Uh…"

"Thank you!" she enthused with a large smile as she released him. "You're the best, Gnarlie."

He smiled and laughed before shrugging. "Thanks, Grotta. I try. Now what was it you wanted me to see earlier?"

"Well, it was a new game I found, but I don't know. Are you sure you're up for it? You haven't reached your quota of 'Grotta-time' today?" She smirked.

"Nah. Another hour won't hurt."

"Good! Come on then!" And off they went on another adventure.

The end


End file.
